The Magnificence of Hope

"Indigo Sky Mares" by Laurel Burch

Click HERE for her website.

Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse #147

Some things have to be believed to be seen. ~Ralph Hodgson

Magnificence surrounds us

it touches sky and souls like wings

it is all a true miracle

from birth to passing on

the freedom to inhale

to see and truly be

I am blessed to have known you

the one that made me surely see

the vision of hope is a freedom

a force as wild as horses with no fence

it is mine and yours to tame and ride

If only we truly will.

 

Drink Up

Courtesy Google Images

Linking with Poets United for Poetry Pantry # 425


The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss.

~Thomas Carlyle

We define ourselves
 not by the struggles that we have in life
 but rather by the way we face them
 and handle their affect day by day
 that decides what we become.
  Life and the battles we face are not a respecter of persons
  They do not withhold the blessings nor the strife.
  They come together with the air that feeds our lungs
 like a cup and saucer for us to drink up.
  Some of us sip it cautiously
 and others swallow it wholeheartedly
 and enjoy every drop.
 Drink up my friend!  
Drink up!

The Briefcase

Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope.  ~Josh Billings


I suppose any corporate lawyer will surely have possessions to be admired, like a high quality briefcase, and this man was no different.  I cannot recall his name now, but I remember his story and how it affected my view on what really has value in this life.

His home was amazing, and I was there once each week cleaning its contents wishing it was all mine.  The longer I was there the stronger the wanting became, consuming me like an advanced cancer.  It didn't seem fair that some have it all, while others have to work hard to just get by.  I thought if only my life had been different.  The decisions I made had set a course that rolled me forward like wheels on a haphazard runaway train.  Sometimes the faster you go, the harder you fall, and I learned that lesson the painful way.  Life is full of choices.  Sometimes we do the right thing for the wrong reason and vice versa, but the only solution is taking responsibility for our own decisions and fix what is broken withing our own means.  j

The first time I saw his expensive briefcase, it was open on his desk as I carefully dusted around it to prevent from disturbing its contents.  All the while I was unable to avoid seeing it as a reminder of someone else's greater value and success.  In all facets of his life he was a winner.  He had a great career, home, and family, and that seemed to hit me as a blow to my own self worth.  It just reminded me of my own failures.  From what I could see, he had done everything right, and I certainly envied his diligence and achievements.  

It was a few months later that his wife called me with news that I never would have expected.  She said I did not need to come back to clean because he had been killed in a car wreck on his way home from the office.  As a courtesy, I came to work at no charge, but only neighbors were there to let me in.  His wife and baby had left to stay at her parent's house.  It was strange how so much can change in such a short time.  She would probably have to move, and her baby girl would never really know her father.  

When I arrived, I saw the briefcase again.  This time it was sitting by the door.  Apparently, the police had brought it when they gave her the devastating news.  I will  never forget the sight of it.  A mangled torn up mess was all that was left.  Evidently, he had lost control on a curve and his car hit a tree.  If the neighbors had not informed me, I think the briefcase told it plain and clear.  Just one look and you knew it was bad, real bad.  

That was the last time I cleaned for them, and I never saw her again.  I have often wondered how she is now.  Before I had spent so much energy envying her life, but after that I could only feel a deep sadness for her.  I realized how brief and fragile life can be for anyone, rich or poor.  One can only hope to live this life understanding that what truly matters cannot be bought or sold, and to know that only we can fulfill our dreams.  Success and acceptance are not inside someone else's briefcase, but rather can only be found within the clutches of one's own heart. 

Paper Cuts and Land Slides

Photo Credit


Linking with Imaginary Gardens for the Tuesday Platform brought to us by the lovely Magaly also linking with Poets United for the Mid Week Motif ~ When I think about Myself brought to us by the lovely Sumana and lastly linking with The Sunday Muse
come join us!


"Many of our fears are tissue-paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us through."
~Brendan Francis



I never could walk in the rain with the ease of a star or runway model
I am not that girl
the one that takes the dangerous path
barefoot in the middle of nowhere
unconcerned with what may come
I am the lady that arrives early
to the Dr.'s office
on the verge of sickness
with an umbrella
not because it is raining
but because it could
 when I leave the building
my bag is full of every document
known to man I could need
and my mind is even fuller
with the thought of
driving back in the rain
control is a small beady eyed old man
and no one knows his name
or where he was last
I have been trying to track him down
ever since grade school
I tried Marco Polo
but he was never listening
the only thing I have had control over
is my bladder
until about 2016
now it seems I could just throw caution to the wind
since not much remains in my hands anyway
jewel thief's have ransacked my marble collection
it seems i never had them contained from the beginning
life is full of paper cuts and land slides
and somewhere between band aids and mud boots
I lost sight of the difference between the two
uncertainty is a scary thing 
especially when you are young
if you learn to fear and dread early
all perspective can get distorted
like the view through the wrong prescription glasses
all objects get blurry
everything becomes scary and uncertain
I am learning to change what I see
but this has proved to be a slow process
like road repair done by old nuns
still I try to make control my own ordained ministry
even though I am no minister
with time I have found
it is not what one acquires
that makes it clear
but more what one
learns in the process
of letting it go.

Ssshhhhhh

(Carrie's spot at the library circulation desk)

Linking with Imaginary Gardens 

for Bits of Inspiration ~ Mixed Media Art

brought to you and imagined by Susie Clevenger

Silence was never written down.  ~Italian Proverb

I spend most of my time at work

sitting at a circulation desk where

people check out books

and pay late fees

discussing their day 

and their favorite 

series or author

while children laugh

and young adults 

and old ones as well

talk on their cell phone

as if they are home

for some we are

a home away

from home

we have snacks

people eat

kids run around 

and play while

their parents

are on the computer

oblivious to

their surroundings

and.....

yes libraries

are supposed to be

quiet

but

they are not...

we serve a community

where there are more needs

than just studying for a test

or looking up information

some need air conditioning

others want the internet

having important information

to print out

and then there are the

ones that want a great book

either way

there is a need to be met

and customer service is the

backbone of my career 

I am here to serve

in noise and in quiet

and I love it either way!

Now here is my actual poem for the prompt:

If silence could speak it would whisper ssshhhh

I would elbow it softly and suggest

something a little more assertive 

like shuuuut uuuup

or how about a mean glare

but silence would not listen

because silence is way too polite for that

and it does have a mind of it's own

you see silence is an old friend of mine

and we go way back

we have been through so much together

in my times of great loneliness 

it taught me the art of pondering 

life's questions and writing poetry

at night it was always close by

to listen with no judgement

there have been those that 

have shunned my dear friend

considering it empty

with nothing to truly offer

but I disagree 

it is a priceless gift

that I have learned to love

throughout the years

you see

silence

 truly is

golden to me!

A Fool and a Cigarette

image by R.A.D. Stainforth

The Mag #149

"I tell you the past is a bucket of ashes."

 ~Carl Sandburg, "Prairie," Complete Poems, 1950

When we are 16 we smoke all our tomorrows

like cheap cigarettes and strawberry hill wine

at an endless hangout at the corner store...

yet when we are old we smoke all our yesterdays

like one fine cigar and rare expensive wine

at a place we wish we had gone and can no longer afford.

"Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward." ~Soren Kierkegaard

Wishing Tess and everyone at The Mag a wonderful and Happy New Year!

Metaphors Have Stained Glass Windows

A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place.  A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse below and dreams of home.  ~Robert Brault

Museum Artifacts:

Some dreams are like a glassed in museum artifacts,

we can see it and ponder it's beauty, but we can never hold it in our hands.

A Nearby Explosion:

Memories are like a nearby explosion,

the moment it happens is brief, but the ringing in our ears can last a lifetime.

An Old Shirt:

Bitterness is like an old shirt,

the more you wear it the more comfortable it gets, and the stains become permanent.

A Passing Train:

Harsh words are like a passing train,

they pass us by harmlessly many times but when they hit us they are devastating.

A Burning Forest;

The gangs of the ghetto are like a burning forest,

they stand together in danger unable to run and that is where they shall fall.

A Repaired Leaky Roof:

Courage is like a repaired leaky roof,

you never know if it will hold strong until it rains.

That Fine Crystal Vase:

Sometimes love is like that fine crystal vase you always longed for,

when you finally have it you place it on a high shelf to protect it from breaking and its true beauty is never revealed.

A Handgun:

Power is like a handgun,

When it is used wisely it serves its purpose of protection, but when it is used carelessly it is a danger to us all.

Condensation:

Prejudice is like condensation on a window pane,

the difference in temperature makes it impossible for one side to see through to the other.

Wild Flowers:

Chances are like wild flowers,

they come and go with the seasons yet only we can decide to stop and pick them up.

Deep Splinters:

Mistakes are like deep splinters,

they enter our lives easily, but they are very hard to work out.

A Pin Drop:

Hope is like a pin drop,

it can fall in a room and never be noticed, yet it is still there just the same.

Stained Glass Windows:

Feelings are like stained glass windows,

everyone that looks through them views things a little differently, but when it is shattered we all see it is a crying shame.

Linking with dVerse Open Link Night

 

All That We Behold

"All that we behold is full of blessings. " ~William Wordsworth

What we see when we look at the world has a way of changing from the time we are youngsters, to adulthood.  The view through that familiar living room window changes light.  We no longer see with a sense of fascination.  The magical goggles somehow get removed from those brilliant eyes.   Then bifocals replace them with a mundane outlook.  The only way to see that glorious vision again is to remove the layers of practical callus upon the soul, and see like a child once more.

I have always believed that you can learn more from a child than you can a text book, when it comes to the matters of the heart.  They wear their heart out on their sleeve, and do not mind sharing how they feel or what they see.  We learn to be patient in their haste, and we learn to be honest from the example and tendernous of a child's presence.  They see the world as an adventure and a wonder.  There is a certain grace in innocense, and a graciousness in the innocense of a child.  They are open to love and acceptance of others.  Something that we could use having a little more of in our adult lives. 

Another Thanksgiving is arriving once again.  The holiday season is always a busy time, making it easy to loose sight of the simple pleasures that matter most.  So I challenge myself and anyone that wants to venture with me to put back on those magical goggles of a child.  To see the world and all it's beauty, knowing that there are so many blessing in every direction we look.  We have so much to be thankful for.  Just take a peek out your living room window, and you will get your first glimpse.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in blog land! 


Sharing with Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads

Also linking with Poets United Poetry Pantry # 76

The Binocular View

One Shot Wednesday

Sometimes it takes the prisoner to understand what freedom really is,

and maybe only the humble heart can recognize when pride is slipping in.

It takes a child to trust the wisdom of the old one's words,

and perhaps only a dying man can realize what a healthy life is worth.

Sometimes it take the one who has completely lost it all

to appreciate what it means to be first to cross the finish line,

and maybe only a penniless person can truly comprehend the value of a dime.

It takes the one down in the valley low to take awe at the mountain  high in the air,

and perhaps only the eyes looking from the farthest distance can get the closer view of what is truly there.

"A penny will hide the biggest star in the Universe if you hold it close enough to your eye."  ~Samuel Grafton

Also sharing with lovely Emily at Imperfect Prose

All We Can See

Poets United Think Tank Prompt # 10

In the midst of a heavy rain all we might see

is our good shoes getting wet

traveling down the desert path all we might see

is it is a long way to the river

at the end of a barrel of a gun all we might see

is all we love slipping away

staring down the trigger side of a gun all we might see

is everything we hate

at the edge of  mountain top all we might see

is how far we could fall

yet in the deep valley at our darkest place

all we can see

is the way up

and start searching for the light.